Comfort
by yonebayachi
Summary: Deep down, Iwaizumi found comfort in his words, but he would never admit that he ever did. Oikawa didn't need to know. He doesn't have to.


**Who's up for some Iwaoi fluff? You are, of course!**

 **I mean why else would you be reading this now?**

 **To be honest, I wasn't planning to put this up, had it not been for my friend, who I will not name for obvious reasons** **—but you know who you are** **. This idea goes way back to the start of the year, or the first half of it, so yeah. I hope this isn't too crappy :'D**

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"Damn it." a curse escapes his lips as the ball, instead of going over the net, got caught in it. And there goes another one, being smashed harshly onto the polished floor from the other side of the court. Sweat coated his skin, his shirt soaked in said sweat. The sound of his rugged breathing resonated within the vast space of the nearly empty gymnasium—which was pretty convenient for the two of its only occupants.

The Inter High preliminaries were over. If they wanted to make it to the nationals, this was the only way to last all the way to the finals of the Spring Tournament—to grow stronger. If he wanted to get stronger, he needed practice, he needed time. After all, practice makes perfect.

"Iwa-chan, I think that's enough for today." said an already worried Oikawa. Usually, it takes more to make the grand king panic over his friend's rigorous training. The ace had been training that way since they started playing, though, he doesn't hold on to his knees or does his face turn a terrifying red like he does now. "You used to head-butt me when I won't listen to you. Hey,"

It was ironic how Oikawa was the one to telling him when it's enough. He wasn't used to it. Picking the ball up from a feet away, Iwaizumi's shoes squeaked as he turned to face the net. There was something Oikawa found unsettling about him working himself so hard and going on without a break. What could've possibly pushed him to do so?

"What was that?" he was too busy spiking the ball. It hit the wall, missing the super setter by an inch. He was dangerously close to having a face implant, had he not dodged it. Judging from the rather strong impact it made, if it ever hit him, his face would've been bruised all over—if that was possible. He knows how painful his friend's smacks were, and how powerful his hand was. Oikawa would consider it as a close call, and something Iwaizumi wouldn't forgive the ball for. "Why'd you dodge it? You like receiving my spikes, like you usually do."

"That was mean, Iwa-chan." Oikawa rubbed the back of his neck, then smiled sheepishly at him. Hajime was more pissed than ever, leaving him completely clueless. Was it something he said? "If you overdo it, you might hurt yourself."

"No one can tell me to stop. Only I tell myself to stop." the ace almost pulled his hand back to smack him upside his head, and moments later, he was walking away after deciding not to hit him. "Just shut up and leave me be."

"I won't." if Oikawa hadn't been so brave to step forward to grab for his arm, he wouldn't have received a punch from the ace. "I won't. No matter how many times you push and punch me away, and I mean it."

"Then that only proves that you're a bigger idiot than you already are. You should know better than going to flat out tell me to stop." the enraged ace growled at him, picking a ball up, and started heading the other way. "Don't you need to get home and do your homework? Just go bother someone else. I want to be alone."

"Iwa-chan, you know you can't lie to me." as the setter said that, Iwaizumi was near to popping the ball he had in his two hands. He glared at it as if it would rid him all of his fears and banish every single one of his dreadful thoughts. "Just tell me why you're acting like that."

For a minute, Iwaizumi was quiet. He couldn't decide whether or not he'd tell him what's bothering him. He might laugh, knowing how well he would react to it. Despite this, Oikawa pressed on. "I'm your friend. Not some psychopath who'd take advantage of your weaknesses, if ever given the chance. When have I used anything against you?"

A short pause. Iwaizumi didn't plan on talking about it, especially to him. He was the last person he wanted to tell it to.

"We could've won if it wasn't for me." Hajime spiked the ball hard enough to make it bounce off to the other side of the court. "If only I had been stronger, if only I had trained more."

Oikawa felt guilty. He had a part in losing most of those points—all of them did. He wasn't the only one responsible for their loss. He shouldn't shoulder the blame by himself or even feel bad for it either. It wasn't his to bear. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Iwa-chan."

"But I want to be stronger."

Iwaizumi suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. Oikawa was going to start talking about treating himself better and that he shouldn't blame himself, but bit his tongue when he clutched the throbbing part of his skull, flinching. The chestnut-haired teen gave him a worried look.

"You have been sleeping since the match, right?" when Oikawa reached for his shoulder, he slapped it away, glaring at the slightly taller boy.

"Why do you keep asking me these questions? And could you please stop it with that face?" the ace demanded.

Oikawa, who was clearly hurt by this, walks closer. "It's because I care about you, Iwa-chan."

"What makes you think I'd believe your lies?" the worn-out ace chuckled dryly. Right when he was about to head towards the exit, he collapsed.

"Iwa-chan!"

For the next few minutes, he was in complete pain. He could feel his body going limp. His lack of sleep had certainly taken its toll on him. Iwaizumi regretted every bit of it, he regretted every second he wasted mulling over their defeat when he was supposed to close his eyes and give in to his fatigue—but it has been a long week for him, after all. But it wasn't like he could put himself to sleep for even a minute. His shame was what kept him up the whole time, and the scene just keeps playing over and over in his head. He just couldn't bear losing to the rival team again.

Then, Iwaizumi started trying his hardest to breathe, trying to catch his breath. His chest felt so tight. He found himself clawing at his shirt where his left breast was. Hajime felt lightheaded, his stomach was a little queasy. He was scared—he was scared that everything around him was turning black by the passing second. The world then started to to spin. He could only see and hear the Oikawa calling, shrieking his name, and shaking him in a desperate attempt to wake him up.

Even if he wanted to slap the overreacting setter right across his face for being too loud, he couldn't bring himself to. He was numb. He couldn't even so much as lift his fingers or part his lips to tell Oikawa to shut up, to tell him he was perfectly fine, even if he knew he wasn't. He just can't stand seeing Oikawa panic, and it was the same for the setter. Tooru didn't like it when he was pushing himself to his limit.

For the first time that day, Iwaizumi finally submitted himself to sleep, to the darkness seeping from the back of his skull. With a final look at Oikawa, he let his eyes draw shut. The last thing he saw in the setter's face was concern for him. He couldn't blame him, though—he knew himself that it might take a while before he could get up again, and he was pretty sure Oikawa would miss him. But it's only been a few minutes. It couldn't hurt to close his eyes for a few minutes, right?

Iwaizumi liked to think he was sleeping. But he could feel the pain all over. And he keeps seeing Ushijima steal the last point, every year, it just keeps on going, repeating itself until he can't take it anymore. Iwaizumi was writhing, twisting and turning. It felt like it was never going to end, like it was going to be that way forever.

He was then met with Oikawa to his side, who was fighting the urge to sleep himself. "You're awake," Oikawa forced a tired smile. "You really had me worried back there."

"And you were acting hopeless a second ago." he muttered. "You were freaking out too much. You could've carried me to the clinic instead of crying out for help." what good would it do him anyway? And how did he even get here?

"I didn't know what to do when I saw you pass out." Oikawa admitted.

"You could've at least dragged me here." it was the only reasonable thing he failed to do.

"Enough of that! What's happened to you? Have you been eating right?" sure enough, no one in the right mind would go on with the week without eating.

"I'm just frustrated that we lost against Ushikawa again. It's been years, you know," he plainly said, but Oikawa sensed something underneath it, underneath his unusually monotonous voice—like there was a hint of regret and a tinge of disappointment in it. He didn't think Iwaizumi would take this too seriously. "I would've wanted to live up to the expectation of being the ace, but it's almost impossible with Ushijima around."

"You know what? We'll just beat him when we're in college." Oikawa assured him.

"That's the thing. The next time I see you might be on the other side of the court with the both of us on different teams." Iwaizumi couldn't have that. He liked it when Oikawa was around—it just felt right with the super setter around.

"Don't worry, Iwa-chan. You shouldn't think about what's going to happen, and instead, focus on what's at hand—cherish the little things." Iwaizumi found himself dumbstruck by his smile, the smile that was meant for him, and he was the only one meant to see it. "We'll get him next time—when we're all stronger and prepared. Maybe then we'll defeat them."

Iwaizumi was feeling better, even for a little. Seeing this, Oikawa chuckled. "Who knows? The next is right around the corner."

"Then we'll defeat Karasuno, and I'll make sure they won't advance in the next round! Oh, I can't wait to see Tobio-chan's face when we crush them!" getting sick of his sudden enthusiasm, Iwaizumi's brows twitched. How the hell can he be so confident? Securing a spot in the finals was difficult enough, let alone qualifying for the next round.

"If we don't?" Iwaizumi tried to be real here. Countless of possibilities may happen during their match, so there's no guarantee that they'd get by.

"That would be a bummer. If they won, then there's always college. It shouldn't matter if we're not on the same team so long as we're having fun."

Iwaizumi couldn't remember the last time he heard him say that. Fun? He did enjoy winning, but fun? "Isn't that what it's all about?"

Of course, it was a lie. He knew him too well to fall for it. The ace inaudibly sighed. "Stupid."

Deep down, Iwaizumi found comfort in his words, but he would never admit that he ever did.

Oikawa didn't need to know. He doesn't have to.

The last thing he wanted to hear was him milking all the praises thrown his way. Typical Oikawa.


End file.
